In terms of Alabama quarterback lore, Jalen Milroe was bringing to mind Tua Tagovailoa’s boneheaded sack in the national championship game, which preceded the winning TD pass. But whatever the hell Milroe just did to knock off Auburn on the road in the Iron Bowl was about 10 times more chaotic.
Isaiah Bond hauled in a 4th and Goal, 31-yard TD from Milroe to stun the home crowd and send Tuscaloosa and Tide fans everywhere into a frenzy.
MILLY BOND 🤫
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/CaG4QyY0i8
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) November 25, 2023
4 and 31 😉#RollTide pic.twitter.com/MzmbnnnPXV
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) November 26, 2023
Now I have to lay out what I set up in the lede. Milroe not only egregiously crossed the line of scrimmage for an illegal forward pass on the play prior. He took a brutal sack earlier in the possession to create a 3rd and 20, where he ran for 19 yards to help keep Bama’s hopes alive. What a freaking hit he took here, too! That was like the fifth-most absurd thing that happened in this bonkers sequence.
Jalen Milroe is 6-2, 220 going at full speed. Nehemiah Pritchett is 6-1, 182. Giving up almost 40 pounds. What a play with the game on the line. pic.twitter.com/s61Cd4CzP6
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) November 25, 2023
Right before that illegal forward pass, though, Milroe wasn’t ready for a snap from the center, and when the ball bounced right back to him several yards back, he slipped on the turf for a huge loss.
OK cool, I’ve written most of this but jumping back in here to plug the succinct, convenient highlight package CBS Sports just posted!
Just one of the craziest finishes you will EVER see. pic.twitter.com/eEUJlDEF0w
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 26, 2023
Mind you, before the decisive nine-play, 30-yard drive that ended with the 31-yard Milroe-to-Bond connection — sounds weird AF, doesn’t it? — Auburn had to muff a punt to set the stage for all this.
DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!
Alabama takes over! pic.twitter.com/r35rApaOF1
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 25, 2023
Like what the actual f*ck just happened?
This writer has seen some crazy stuff in his day covering sports. Auburn’s Kick Six in this very rivalry game was among the most stunning finishes of all-time, never mind in this heated intrastate SEC rivalry.
The Milroe Miracle as I’ve seen it called might take the cake for wildest conclusion to a college football game I’ve ever seen because of all the insanity that preceded the unlikely winning TD.
What a cool interview with Milroe afterwards, where he talks through how he stayed composed amid some of the most destabilizing circumstances in modern sports history.
“Never give up. Always fall back to your level of training. It’s all about mental toughness. That’s what’s going to get you through a game. Not 1 quarter, 2 quarters, 3 quarters all 60 minutes,” Jalen Milroe pic.twitter.com/7NPXLqnaL0
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) November 26, 2023
Also, Jalen Milroe: You sir, cannot escape without being served this GIF.
The fact that the Tigers blew this game just speaks to how tilted the field feels in favor of the Crimson Tide. Their o-line is often, like, three uniform sizes bigger than the defenders they face. They’re just this unstoppable force of recruiting that Nick Saban tries not to f*ck up every year. I’m obviously being facetious. But Auburn played plenty well enough to upset Alabama in this one. It wasn’t meant to be.
At Eternity's Gate, by Vincent van Gogh, 1890, 📸 via @nocontextcfb pic.twitter.com/rzs7O4UiBj
— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) November 26, 2023
I think Jalen Milroe should chill at Bama for another year, make a Heisman push next season, and position himself to be a first-round draft pick in 2025. Who knows? He most definitely has that dog in him.
Down 24-20
43 seconds left
4th & Goal from the 31
Jalen Milroe: pic.twitter.com/Qdku8RwJLU
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 26, 2023
PS: If you’re interested in the Tua TD I was talking about at the top of this article and either somehow don’t know what it is or want to see it again for a clearer frame of reference, here ya go:
